Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (Angptl4) is a secreted protein predominantly expressed in liver and adipose tissues, and has been identified as an adipokine. Angptl4 is the target gene of peroxisome proliferator‑activated receptors, which are widely used as lipid‑lowering and anti‑diabetic drugs, and previous studies have demonstrated that Angptl4 is able to directly stimulate adipocyte lipolysis. The current study focused on how Angptl4 was involved in regulating lipid and glucose metabolism in high‑fat‑diet (HFD) C57 mice...

There is an epidemic of obesity starting about 1980 in both developed and undeveloped countries definitely associated with multiple etiologies. About 670 million people worldwide are obese. The incidence of obesity has increased in all age groups, including children. Obesity causes numerous diseases and the interaction between genetic, metabolic, social, cultural and environmental factors are possible cofactors for the development of obesity. Evidence emerging over the last 20 years supports the hypothesis that viral infections may be associated with obesity in animals and humans...

BACKGROUND: No bariatric procedure is perfect, and a plethora of such procedures itself is a proof for the same. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding has a high safety profile, but also a high rate of re-operation has been reported (Schouten, Wiryasaputra, van Dielen et al. Obes Surg 20(12):1617-26, 2010). Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is becoming popular, but has its own set of complications and is irreversible. We introduced laparoscopic adjustable gastric banded plication (LAGBP) in 2009 (Huang, Lo, Shabbir et al...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Adenovirus-36 (Adv-36) infection is associated with exaggerated adipogenesis in cell culture and the development of obesity in animal models and humans, but a causal relationship remains unproven. Our objective was to determine whether serological evidence of Adv-36 infection in childhood and/or adulthood is associated with adult obesity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Paired plasma concentrations of Adv-36 antibodies were measured by a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a subgroup (n=449) of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study in childhood (mean age 11...

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, which occurs due to β cell damage. Interleukin (IL)-10, a pleotropic cytokine, has been reported to have anti‑inflammatory, immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory properties. Administration of IL‑10 is known to prevent autoimmune diabetes in non‑obese diabetic (NOD) mice. However, the mechanism of IL‑10‑induced protection in NOD mice requires further investigation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effect of transgenic IL‑10 expression in pancreatic β cells against autoimmune damage in NOD mice and to elucidate its mechanism of action...

Obesity and liver steatosis are usually described as related diseases. Obesity is regarded as exclusive consequence of an imbalance between food intake and physical exercise, modulated by endocrine and genetic factors. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a condition whose natural history is related to, but not completely explained by over-nutrition, obesity and insulin resistance. There is evidence that environmental infections, and notably adipogenic adenoviruses (ADV) infections in humans, are associated not only with obesity, which is sufficiently established, but also with allied conditions, such as fatty liver...

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a chronic disease of multiple etiologies. Alongside the traditionally recognized causes of obesity, such as genetic inheritance and behaviour/environmental factors, in recent years adenoviral infections have been considered as a possible cause of obesity. Although numerous studies involving animals confirmed a strong relation between adenoviral infection and increased predisposition to obesity, an association of AdVs with human obesity has not been established conclusively...

The hypothesis was that preadipocytes would have intrinsically elevated propensity to differentiate into mature adipocytes due to AdV9 infection. To test this hypothesis, the metabolic and molecular mechanisms responsible for AdV9-induced adipogenesis were examined. An association between anti-AdV9 antibodies and human obesity was also identified. 3T3L1 cells were used as a surrogate model to analyze the preadipocyte proliferation, differentiation, and maturation. An expression of E4orf1, C/EBP-β, PPAR-γ, GAPDH, aP2, LEP and fatty acid synthase gene, intracellular lipid accumulation and cytokine release were assessed...

Mediastinal adipose tissue can be found on the anterior surface of pericardial sac below the remnants of the thymus. On the basis of previous studies describing adenoviruses (AdVs) as a causative factor of obesity, the causative relation between the presence of AdVs and an increased accumulation of mediastinal adipose tissue was studied. The study included 25 obese/overweight subjects with cardiac disorders. Specimens from fat deposits from the anterior mediastinum were collected during cardiac surgery procedures...

Adenovirus-36 (Adv-36) has been implicated in the etiology of obesity. This study attempts to identify the prevalence of Adv-36 antibodies and compare BMI among obese Missouri adolescents. Thirteen obese Missouri adolescents were tested for Adv-36 antibodies via ELISA assay. Adv-36 antibodies were detected among 6 (46.2%) subjects. Mean BMI of the Adv-36 positive group and negative group was 43.5 kg/m2 and 35.4 kg/m2 (p < 0.05), respectively. This is the first such study of Adv-36 status among Missouri adolescents...

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding is one of several weight loss procedures in the bariatric surgeon's armamentarium to treat morbid obesity. Laparoscopic gastric banding has the lowest perioperative risk compared to laparoscopic gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and duodenal switch (Buchwald et al., JAMA 292:1724-1737, 2004). The adjustable gastric band results in approximately 50% excess weight loss at 5 years (O'Brien and Dixon,J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 13:265-270, 2003). In the long-term, reoperation rates can be high with the percentage of reoperations varying enormously in reported studies from 2% to 80% (Schouten et al...

Massive adipose tissue depositions in the abdomen and thorax sufficient to interfere with respiration developed in a patient with multiple medical problems. Biopsy of adipose tissue identified human adenovirus 36 (Adv 36) DNA. Adv 36 causes adipogenesis in animals and humans. Development of massive lipomatosis may be caused by Adv 36.

In this study, we hypothesize that local sustained release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), using adenovirus vector (ADV)-mediated gene transfer, accelerates experimental wound healing. This hypothesis was tested by determining the specific effects of VEGF(165) application on multiple aspects of the wound healing process, that is, time to complete wound closure and skin biomechanical properties. After showing accelerated wound healing in vivo, we studied the mechanism to explain the findings on multiple aspects of the wound healing cascade, including epithelialization, collagen deposition, and cell migration...

The number one cause of mortality in the US is cardiovascular related disease. Future predictions do not see a reduction in this rate especially with the continued rise in obesity [P. Poirier, et al., Obesity and cardiovascular disease: pathophysiology, evaluation, and effect of weight loss, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 26(5), (2006) 968-976.; K. Obunai, S. Jani, G.D. Dangas, Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality of the metabolic syndrome, Med.Clin. North Am., 91(6), (2007) 1169-1184]. Even so, potential molecular therapeutic targets for cardiac gene delivery are in no short supply thanks to continuing advances in molecular cardiology...

PURPOSE: Ex vivo gene therapy approaches can improve the outcome of islet transplantation for treating type I diabetes. We have previously shown the improvement in islet function and vascularization following ex vivo transfection for human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF) gene expression. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that co-expression of two genes, which target different challenges faced by islets post-transplantation, supplement each other to improve the survival and function of islets...